The Zero Spend Challenge 2018

December, Christmas, New Years, parties, gatherings, gifts, food, restaurants.  December is one of those months in which the finances take a beating.  In December 2017 my husband and I spent a lot of money dining out with friends and family, not to mention Christmas.  When New Year's rolled around we took a hard look at our spending and decided we needed to reel it in.   In order to do that we took a zero spend challenge for January, which we later extended into February.  This is not our first go at a zero spend challenge.  We did one in October of 2015,  I blogged the entire process starting with "My October Challenge." http://cincynurse.blogspot.com/2015/09/  We are zero spend pros.  I did not invent the challenge, although I wish I had.  It is a really great way to assess what your spending habits are and what is really necessary to get by.

Someone asked me about the rules of a zero spend challenge.  I will list some below, although keep in mind that this can be as loose or as strict as one chooses it to be.  We were a lot more flexible this time around and our main focus was on dining out and entertainment.

The "rules"

1- Pay bills, mortgage, insurance, gas and electric, phone, TV, etc.
(Now would be a good time to evaluate these things.  Ask yourself, "Do I really need those premium channels?  I could go to the library for movie rentals. Am I paying to much for insurance, or perhaps not enough?  Can I get by with a cheaper phone plan, or ditch the land line?")

2- No dining out.  (We made an exception to this rule for our trip to West Virginia, where our daughter goes to college.  We also allowed our Sunday brunches. Mine is with my dad and I enjoy this time with him).

3-  We can buy limited groceries.  This is limited to fresh foods and dairy.  We allowed for healthy items, and decreased our bill quite a lot.

4-  Medical care and medicine is allowed no question!

5- Needed auto repairs and gas. (You need your car to be reliable.)

6- Entertainment.  We did go out some, but we strictly limited it to free, or already paid for.  This was tough because January and February are cold, long and boring.  ( I read a lot)

OUR SPENDING:
Our largest expenses; (green) for January was our daughter's tuition. (we list her expenses and accounts in quicken also, it is easier for her to track and balance in quicken)  In February, it was a major and necessary car repair.

Our utilities (orange) weren't too bad, $611 in January, and only $503 in February.  Pretty good considering this is electric too and it was cold.

Our dining (red) in January was only $303 and Feb. was only $232.  Much better considering our dining in December was almost $600.  (Our dining was $6975 in 2017!!!!!! This is one big reason we elected a zero spend.  This averages to almost $600 per month!!! This is why tracking your spending is so important.  It helps to see where your money is going so you can improve your habits.)

Our Entertainment was a mere $26 for all of January and February.  This doesn't mean we didn't do anything.  We had some wonderful experiences.  We saw Jeff Dunham, in Dayton, OH, with the tickets I bought my husband for Christmas.  We also did a mystery dinner with some great friends, which we bought at our get together in December through Groupon.  It was a corny great time!  In 2017 we spent nearly $160 per month,  $1928 for the year!!

Our groceries in 2017 totaled a whopping $9662 that's $878 per month.  In January our groceries were $533 and Feb. were $677.   Better, but up again in March as we made our trip to a wholesale club to buy paper products, which we find cheaper to buy in bulk.

We are really pleased about our low overall spending in the months of January and February and feel compelled to continue this trend.  I read about a couple who actually did a "no" spend year.  They didn't purchase anything unnecessary for a year.  They would stop before every purchase and ask themselves " is this a want or a need?"  They managed to pay off tens of thousands of debt.  I think this is key when trying to pay down debt or save.  Ask yourself that same thing whenever you're tempted to buy something.

I recently lost a lot of weight and I was going through the clothes I had, getting rid of all the things that no longer fit.  I was so ashamed of all the jeans I had, probably 12 pair in all that I hardly even wore.  Who needs that many pairs of jeans??  I had so many clothes, it was a sin.  I have decided that I won't do that again.  I will live with the bare minimum of what I need.  One of my co workers did a mission trip recently, to where I cannot recall, but she stated, " I loved it there.  I could live there.  They have very little, but they are so happy.  The people communicate with one another, they don't have cell phones.  They play together."

I think we get lost in the need for consumption and we forget what is really important. Also, I think we isolate ourselves from one another with the overuse of technology.  For me, it's my faith, family, friends, health, freedom, and experiences that I value most!  I don't regret only working part time most years when my kids were little, because that time was very short and I enjoyed so many experiences with them.  We could have had more money, a bigger house, a better car, nicer clothes, better vacations, but when all is said and done, how are those things more valuable than watching your child pet sharks at the aquarium, hitting a home run, going to school dances,  or being there when they come home from school with exciting news or bad news?

  Moving forward, I choose to "live simply, so that others may simply live".( Mother Teresa)  Who knows, maybe one day, I will take a mission trip like my co worker, it would certainly be a worthwhile experience.

How has your January, February and now March been?  What things can you cut back on and how can this improve your life and possibly the life of another?  What do you value?  Comment here!

Thanks for reading!

I Lost 70 pounds! How I did it, and how I feel now.

I was at work the other day and my good friend and colleague came
over to me and exclaimed, "I can't believe how thin you are getting,
you look so great!  I saw an old picture of you the other day, and you
have really come a long way."  I asked her to send me the picture because I deleted it, along with all my other pictures. (Which were rare because, I did not like to have my picture taken.)  (Yes, Morgan and Madisyn, you were right.) I am posting it here, because I think it is important to be honest with myself.  It's good to recognize that this wasn't a happy or healthy me. I am being real here.  I decided last year, to make real resolutions.  It was late January that I joined weight watchers.  I walked into that Saturday morning meeting at 730 am and I was angry!  I did not want to be there.  I was sad too, because I really did not want to feel deprived of food. I am a food addict.  Like any other addict, letting go is scary, and hard.  "Loosing weight is hard, being fat is hard, pick your hard!"  After the meeting a woman, (now a good friend to me), came over and said, "Hi, I'm Sherry, welcome." This really made a big impact on me.  I found a group of people that are super supportive, open and real.  I am just like all of them.  Our issues with food are so similar that we can relate to each others struggles.

 I went home and figured out the weight watchers (ww) app.  It is really easy and great!  I bought healthy food and I started to make small changes.  There were times when I thought I would quit, it was hard.  Connect was a huge impact for me.  Connect, if you're not familiar with ww, is an online sort of "facebook."  People share their stories of struggle and success.   It is incredibly relatable.  Times when I thought, "I want to eat," I could get on there and get some inspiration, or motivation.  I also found a recommendation for a book called, " It was Me All Along."  One of the best books I've read and really made a difference to me in this journey.  Something I read in the book was a story about a time when this woman was in Over Eaters Anonymous and she was feeling out of control and ready to binge and the sponsor she called said, "can you just wait until tomorrow and we can revisit this tomorrow?"  Okay, that hit me.  Like, whatever is getting to me, making me want to eat out of control, can I just put it aside until tomorrow.  Yeah, like we all know, sometimes what scares us in the dark of night, isn't so scary in the morning.

I was loosing weight steadily, until June and July of 2017 when I hit a roadblock.  I got the shingles at the end of May that affected my cranial and trigeminal nerves.  I suffered vertigo and severe migraines.  I couldn't move.  I couldn't drive myself.  I was at a stand still with my weight loss and it was scary and frustrating.  Anyone who has ever battled with weight loss knows that gaining weight back and the thought of it is extremely frightening.  My husband recognized this and he said, "you aren't doing anything.  You aren't working or moving, because you're sick and once you start moving again, it will come off." I also had two women consistently texting me from my ww group.  Them checking in routinely and my husbands support really helped me get through that tough time.

I came across a video by James Smith.   He has a blog and he is a big fitness guy from Australia.  He did a video about women and weight loss.  It's called "The Unspoken Elements of Female Fat Loss."  You can find it on Facebook.  I watched that video 3-4 times.  I also shared it on my Facebook page several times.  The key take away for me was, "women who increase protein in their diet and add resistance training, do much better with weight loss and they keep it off longer."   I had an aha moment.  I couldn't run or walk far really, but I could sit on my weight machine and lift weights.  I started small.  I do not intend to be a body builder.  I just want to loose weight and tone and have some strength as I edge into my 50's.  I also concentrated on eating fewer carbs and more protein.  After about two weeks of this, I started noticing the weight coming off faster.  I was onto something.

I continued to improve in my health and since I signed up for the "Flying Pig" half marathon, I started to walk on the treadmill.  In October, I added some light running to my routine.  My weight continued to fall.  Now, with weight watchers, I never did feel deprived of anything.  If I knew we were going somewhere, I would eat less throughout the week so I could enjoy a beer or two or eat a piece of cake.  This new ww program is livable.  It is something I could and really have to do forever.  I have to go and be accountable, just like someone in AA.  I'm in WW.  I am an addict.  Like Randall from "This is Us" says, "We all have our stuff."

So my weight loss breaks down like this:
Feb 2017- 13.6
Mar - 8.4
April- 11.4
May- 8.4
June- 4.6
July- 0.2
Aug -4.0
Sept- 5.0
Oct-  0.8
Nov-5.6
Dec- (+ .8) this is when the plan changed and Christmas!!
Jan 2018- -8.8 (I had the flu and lost 4.4 pounds the week after, since this beginning of this post, I have gained back some of that in January, but I know I will get it off.)

Now, if you add this up and it doesn't come to 70, I probably made a mistake somewhere.  There are definitely some ups and downs, but I am happy with the consistency of it.  The less I have to lose, the harder it is.  I am really looking at the food I eat.  I am buying more organic foods and cutting out processed foods.  I am eating meatless meals two days a week.  I am eating beans, that's right folks, beans!  If you know me, you know this is huge.  I don't eat kidney beans and I never will.  But, I tried and like garbanzo beans and broad beans and black beans.  I am trying new recipes,  like I made a fantastic Taco soup, that everyone in the house loves.  I am eating more fruits and veggies.  I read a book recently called "Medical Medium" and it's a real eye opener about food and things we should eat, like lemons and celery daily, and things we should never eat, including eggs!  GASP!! I know shocker, they are a source of tumors and cysts.  I highly recommend this book as well as a short movie called "Forks over Knives."

Now onto what my routine is:
I follow weight watchers and track my food daily.  (Even if I am over, I track)
I exercise 4 days or more a week. This consists of walking/ running on the treadmill, until the weather improves for at least 35-60 minutes.
I lift weights 3 times a week (A 90 year old women said this, "Strong arms and legs is what gets you on and off the toilet when you are 90 years old!")  If that doesn't motivate you, I don't know what will.
I do planks daily,  I hate them, but I swear those suckers work!!
I stretch three days a week, especially my back, I should probably do this more often.
I have signed up to walk the Flying Pig half and I will also do the Queen Bee half. ( I do this to keep me moving and motivated, also, the Queen Bee is a ton of fun, and so is the Pig!)

I do not deprive myself, I believe that leads to overindulgence.  If I want something, I plan for it, so that I eat healthy most of the week and splurge a little on the weekends.  I am also able to do so many more things that I couldn't do before.  I went kayaking for the first time ever and loved it!  I also did some serious hiking and zip-lining! 

I have a goal to meet my weight loss goal by my 50th birthday.  So about 15 more pounds to loose.

 So there it is, the raw truth!  I am not perfect in this and I will probably always struggle.  A woman at ww last weekend said this, "we have been gifted this one body,  it's a sacred thing really, and it's the only one we get.  Think about that every time you put something in your mouth."

I would love your feedback, comment below.  Follow me next month as the zero spend challenge extends into February and I share the rules that we follow and sometimes break.  I will share our spending and saving.

2018! How'd that happen??

Here it is, 2018!!  I cannot believe how time flies.  Do you remember when you graduated from high school?  I do, 1986.  And now here we are in a whole new decade, thirty years later and wow, I am about to be 50!  That's right, half of 100.  If it seems like I am rambling, I am. 
Last year,  I looked at my life in a whole new light.  My beautiful and strong, sister in law was coming off of a diagnosis of colon cancer and my father in law had just died rather suddenly.  It shook me really, the fact that at any moment the life you once knew could be ripped away from you.  Now, I am not saying this to scare you, or to make you think the "sky is falling."  I am just saying, these two things really woke me up and caused me to answer one question.  "Am I really living?" The answer was "no, I was not."  I simply existed.  I was unhealthy and I was not doing all the things I dreamed of doing in my life.  I decided at that moment, my life would change.  I made a list of goals for 2017,  only this time, I didn't just say things like "I'm going to loose weight."  This time, I made the goals I wanted to achieve specific, with details about how I would accomplish each step.  I had read that "a goal is only a wish," if you don't write it down and make it measurable.   My process worked for me.  I had several goals,  including: weight loss, money to save, walking a half marathon, attending church weekly, etc.  At the end of 2017, I am happy to report that I have accomplished nearly 90% of what I set out to do. 2017 I enjoyed life to the fullest.  I zip-lined, hiked, re-kindled old friendships, photographed, read, wrote, traveled and lived!

Now that 2018 is here, I have written my goals once again.  This year, I made a vision board.  I included all the things I hope to accomplish in the coming year and I put that board on the desk in the kitchen so I can see it every day.  Our first task this year was to have a zero spend challenge in the month of January.   It is going incredibly well.  My husband who is a good sport, even let me cut his hair.  I did spend some money the weekend I took my daughter back to college for food and gas, but that was deemed necessary.  We had a nice date last weekend because of a Christmas gift.  January is a long month not to spend any money, but we don't feel like we are missing out on anything and after Christmas, it's a great way to reel in the spending for the new year.  Since this month is going so well, we may even try to include February in our no spend challenge.

My goals for 2018:

Reach my weight loss goal by my 50th birthday
Save for a new/used car
Clean out all the rooms in the house, one per month de-clutter
Huge garage sale and donate what's left in the spring
Zero spend January and June  (recently added February)
Blog monthly
Flicker
flying pig and queen bee half marathons ( I am already signed up for the Pig)
walk/run 3 times a week
strength and stretch 3 times a week
Church on Sunday
Read a book a month
Join or start a book club

"You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done.  It is what you haven't done that will torment you." Wayne Dyer

How about you?  What are your New Year's resolutions?  Share them here.
Follow me next month to read about how I lost 70 pounds.
Happy New Year!!

THE EVOLUTION OF CHRISTMAS

        The other day my oldest daughter commented that it doesn't feel quite like Christmas.  I know, I know, "Jesus it the reason for the season."  But there is a certain nostalgia that goes along with it.  It's those memories of Christmas Eve, the candle lit midnight service at church.  It's the smell of peppermint at your grandma's house, which by the way, my grandma did in fact live through the woods.   It is the "magic" of Santa and the North Pole.  It is what you remember when you were a small child and what you loved about Christmas when your own children are small.
        I have been thinking a lot about the evolution of Christmas in my own life.  How it makes me sad looking at the curling iron in the bathroom.   No it isn't about the curling iron.  It is about the fact that the curling iron belongs to my youngest daughter who will be trudging off to college next fall.  The fact that she won't be here in the same capacity will change how Christmas feels to all of us in the family.  
       I have also been contemplating the loss of my mom, who passed last August.  I think about how lonely my dad must feel, especially at Christmas time.  It must be hard to go from a Christmas Eve full laughter and opening presents, a house full of people and your own family traditions to a lonely night that doesn't really feel any different.  This is why I want my sisters and brother to come together, if only for a small time, on Christmas Eve at my Dad's house.  It doesn't have anything to do with anything, except that I can't bear the thought of him being alone on Christmas.
     I think this Christmas was especially hard for my husband, who just found out that his dad has cancer.  His parents reside in Florida this time of year and did not journey North for Christmas because of this new discovery.  This changes Christmas for my husband and his brother too.
      I know that this is something everyone goes through.  I am not naive in thinking that I am alone.  I just wonder, how does one get that feeling back?  How do you keep the spirit and magic of Christmas alive, in your heart and in your home?
    I think it is important to give and do for others.    Take a tag from the Jesse tree.   Partake in Christmas parties and enjoy your family and friends.   Take a drive and look at  Christmas lights, while listening to Christmas music.  Attend a Christmas service.   I have done all these and I still feel a little empty.   
         While thinking about my mom today.  I was in my bathroom, attempting to fix my hair, with before mentioned curling iron and I heard a loud noise.  I turned to see an old hat box that I put on the shelf in my closet fell on the floor, a large envelope behind it fell too.  This envelope contains cards from my mom's funeral along with old photos from when I was a kid.  It made me feel as if my mom was there with me.  Knocking that hat box to the floor.  
      I decided to share some of what was in that envelope here along with some stories from my childhood.

 




 Christmas Eve at my house, we would walk through the woods to my grandparents house.  My grandpa had this amazing train display.  We would go to see our grandparents, open presents from them and we spent a lot of time in the basement of his house looking at his train.  It was so big it took up most of the basement.  It had a mountain, a trolley, airplanes hung from the ceiling.  He wore his famous conductors hat and he operated all the trains.  Some of them had milk jugs that were unloaded and then reloaded.  He had one with small metal barrels that were also loaded and unloaded.    People and cars were placed with care about the platform.  It was a labor of love for him and all of our friends and relatives shared in the excitement of getting to see my grandpa's trains.
      Although we were happy to see our grandparents and we enjoyed the trains, we were very excited to get home, because we knew that there was a very good chance that Santa would drop in at our house while we had been away.   We ran through those woods on the path to our house and sure enough Santa had been there.   We tore open our gifts and played with them until it was time to go to church.  Midnight mass was so beautiful.    They always played "Come Little Children"  and the kids would carry real candles up the aisle to the manger in the front of the church.  The lights were dim and it was very pretty.  After mass, we would walk home exhausted, off to bed we went dreaming of our toys from Santa.
     One of  mom and dad's best friends often  played "Santa" when we were little.  It would amaze me how he knew my name and things about me and all the other kids at the party.  He was a great Santa!  He was even tolerant of an older kid sitting on his lap. 

This year, although I feel something is missing.  I feel blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful and loving family and great friends, some old and some new.  I am enjoying my time with my dad and my aunt, my husband and my kids,  people that I love dearly! 

 I have two great quotes to share.  One is from the movie A Christmas Story and the other from a book I received as a Christmas gift from my sister called "the Little Prince"

"One sees clearly only with the heart.  Anything essential is invisible to the eyes," 

"Ah life is like that.  Sometimes at the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descended upon us."

I hope you enjoy your loved ones, your memories and I hope your making memories for someone special.   Merry Christmas

GET SMASHED!

Yes, this blog is titled "get smashed!" I am not talking about getting drunk, I am talking about getting your mammogram.  Today, I had my boobs smashed!  That is right, it was time for my yearly mammogram and I thought since this blog is "All Things nursing...," I would take a short minute to write about the mammogram.  I am a big proponent of the mammogram.   The five year survivor rate from early detection of breast cancer is almost 100%.  According to the centers for disease control, the number of women age 40 and over who have a mammogram is only 66%.  That is a staggering number considering how really easy the mammogram is and how effective it is at detecting breast cancer.  I had my mammogram at the Christ hospital in Cincinnati.  I had the new 3D imaging mammogram.  I did this because I read that it is more accurate, and it can detect breast cancer up to 15 months earlier.  And it has less false positives.  I am going to walk you through my experience.  I am going to tell you that I have been having mammograms since I was 35 years old.  I have what they call lumpy breasts, and because of that, I have been very regularly having yearly mammograms.  The first time, I was nervous.  The procedure can be somewhat uncomfortable.  Once, while having a mammogram, I became a little nauseated from the pain.  "Has anyone ever thrown up on this thing?"  I asked the technician. 
"No, but I did have someone almost faint once!"  She replied.  (Yikes, can you imagine!)

The receptionist was very nice.  She had me fill out a quick questionnaire.  The questions were things like, do you have a family history of breast cancer?  Do you have any breast lumps at this time and where are they.   Then a technician takes me back to the changing room.  This is what the changing room looks like.  She asks if I have on any deodorant or powder.  I do not.  They ask you not to wear any deodorant or powder because it can cause false positives.  Now, at Christ hospital they do 2 things that I love.  1- They give you a feminine, fitting gown from a warmer.  So it isn't just a hospital gown that you're supposed to wear backwards, that doesn't fit and makes you feel uncomfortable.  Plus, it is warm, from the warmer.  2- After you change, you wait in the privacy of the changing room, behind a curtain, in private, until they are ready for you.  Now I know this seems normal, but it is actual not the norm.  The two other hospitals, one in Cincinnati and the other in Northern Ky, that I have had mammograms at, make you sit in a crowded waiting room dressed in a backwards, ill fitting hospital gown.  It is akward and uncomfortable, and I personally don't like it.   I also can't believe anyone thinks this is ok.  Maybe I am just a prude.

My technician leads me down a short hall in my cute purplish, well fitted and warm mammogram top to the 3D mammogram machine.  It honestly doesn't look or work any different than the regular mammogram machine as far as the smashing is concerned.  It is the same amount of smashing.  I was told that it is extremely sensitive to movement so I had to breath and hold my breath when I was told too.  Not going to lie,  this was tricky.  I almost hyperventilated.  Then, another time, I found myself mid breath when she told me to hold my breath.  Tricky!   She showed me the image on the screen.  Here is the interesting part.  The 3D mammogram makes a more dense breast easier to read.  If your breasts are fatty, then on the image, they are darker and the lumps are easier to detect.  If your breast is dense then the image is whiter and the lumps are not so easy to detect.  The 3D mammogram takes pictures in slices, so it can be examined in greater detail.  So while you are standing there very still with your boob in a vice, and your are holding your breath, you can hear the machine taking multiple pictures.  So now you know what to expect when you get your boobs smashed.  Don't worry, you probably won't throw up, or faint, and you'll feel better when you get the word that your breasts are all clear!

Now go get smashed!

Springtime in Cincinnati, so much to do, so little time!

There are so many great things to do in Cincinnati.  The spring time offers events that only happen in the spring.  One of these great events is the Butterfly show at the Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park.  This year the butterflies are from the Caribbean.  It is an inexpensive way to spend a couple of hours. The cost is only 7$ for adults and there is a coupon on line for a dollar off up to four people.  I went in the afternoon around 2pm.  This was a good time to go, it wasn't very crowded, so I was able to take some really stunning photos of the butterflies and flowers.  Earlier in the day, it is crowded with school groups.   They do have a photographer time.  It is Monday evenings from 5-7.  The cost is 12$ and you get a pin that allows you anytime access to the show.  I may do this option next year. 

With the price of admission to the Butterfly exhibit, you also get to see the rest of the Conservatory.  The conservatory boasts over 3500 plant varieties.  There is a rain forest with a cool water fall and a desert.  My favorite is the orchid room.  The butterfly show runs through June 19th, don't miss it!

Another really fun thing to do in the Spring in Cincinnati, is take part in the Flying Pig Marathon.  I am by no means a runner, but I have walked in the Flying Pig 5k and I have cheered on the sidelines of the marathon for my sister.   In any way that you take part, it is a fun and exciting thing to do in Cincinnati.  You can volunteer as a grunt.  You can walk or run in any of the races which range from the kids marathon to the whole marathon.  There is so much entertainment, music and crowds, the cheering and the camaraderie!  On lookers line the streets with posters that read things like, "worst parade ever!"  The Flying Pig takes place the first weekend in May.   If your going to be around Cincinnati that weekend next year, make plans to participate in some fashion.  I guarantee you will leave feeling excited and you will fall in love with Cincinnati. 

Making Music, in Cincinnati

Here in Cincinnati, we have a rich vibrant culture.  We have valuable resources for music, art and theater.  One of our most valued icons is the Music Hall.  This is a beautiful building that houses the Cincinnati Symphony and the Cincinnati Opera.  I have had the luxury of attending both in this majestic hall.  Music Hall will be getting a big renovation in the coming months.  It is necessary and daunting.  The inside of the building is beautiful and soft.  It has rich red velvet seats and luxurious lighting.  This last week my youngest daughter attended an audition workshop.  This is just one of the

 really nice things the Cincinnati Symphony does for our youth in the community.  When the discussion was over, they provided a nice meal for the group and a little back stage tour.  That was really cool!  I have never been behind the stage at Music Hall.  Rumor has it that the hall is haunted.  It is said that the south part of the structure was actually built over a potter's field.  It is possible to take a ghost tour.  Go to spmhcincinnati.org.  We wrapped things up in the lobby where these pictures were taken.  I am a little worried that the renovation will change the softness and warmness of Music Hall.  I have read in the paper recently that the renovation plans show the changes to be cold and concrete.  I really hope that doesn't happen. 

Our Cincinnati Symphony is one of the top five in our Nation.  The cost for a symphony is really reasonable and if you have kids, even better.  You should really try to get to music hall before renovations take place later this summer.  If you go, parking behind the hall, in the parking garage by the police station, is only 5$.  It has a police officer at the gate and the police station is literally right next door.

Washington Park is right across the street and is very pretty, also very crowded in the evening if you want to take a walk.  The area of Over the Rhine is making a big transformation.  There are plenty of restaurants and bars in the neighborhood.  You can go to Lachey's and possibly meet the famous Lachey brothers who both now reside in Cincinnati, or visit Rhinegeist Brewery at 1910 Elm street, and taste some delicious Cincinnati brew.